Yilan hotel ordered to clean up ‘mountain’ of plastic bottles on roof
Yilan hotel ordered to clean up ‘mountain’ of plastic bottles on roofStaff writer, with CNAThe owner of a hotel in Yilan County's Jiaosi Township (礁溪) was ordered to clean up more than 1,000 plastic bottles from the building's rooftop or face fines, following complaints from the neighbors. According to news reports, the hotel owner's elderly mother has long used the building's sixth-floor rooftop to grow vegetables, and at some point began collecting plastic bottles to hold down fabric she used to cover the soil. An aerial photograph released yesterday shows a "mountain" of plastic bottles on the roof of a hotel in Yilan County's Jiaosi Township. Photo courtesy of the Yilan County GovernmentOver time, the collection of bottles grew to "mountain-like" proportions, causing neighbors to report the property owners to the county government over possible public health and safety violations, the reports said. In a statement late yesterday, the Yilan County Government said it had sent officials from several agencies to inspect the rooftop.
Source:Taipei Times
February 11, 2026 03:35 UTC
Social media addiction trial starts in LA
Social media addiction trial starts in LAAP, LOS ANGELESComparing social media platforms to casinos and addictive drugs, lawyer Mark Lanier on Monday delivered opening statements in a landmark trial in Los Angeles that seeks to hold Instagram owner Meta and Google’s YouTube responsible for harms to children who use their products. Photo: AFPMeta lawyer Paul Schmidt spoke of the disagreement within the scientific community over social media addiction, with some researchers believing it does not exist, or that addiction is not the most appropriate way to describe heavy social media use. He showed the findings of a study Meta conducted called “Project Myst” in which they surveyed 1,000 teens and their parents about their social media use. Lanier spent time describing KGM’s childhood, focusing particularly on what her personality was like before she began using social media. She was a minor when she said she became addicted to social media, which she claims had a detrimental impact on her mental health.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 21:45 UTC
Taichung man found dead amid fraud probe
Taichung man found dead amid fraud probeBy Chen Chien-chih and Jason Pan / Staff reportersA man in Taichung, who had been indicted on fraud charges, was found dead in an apartment, prosecutors said on Sunday. Taichung prosecutors said that Lin Yi-sheng’s (林意盛) body had been found on Friday in his rented apartment’s bathroom, with some tools next to him. The coroner’s report stated there were no signs of external force or foul play in Lin’s death, Taichung prosecutors said, adding that Lin’s body was handed over to his family. A still from the Pet Rainbow Paradise Co Web site is pictured in an undated screen grab. Following the statement, some donors filed judicial complaints, which prompted investigators to launch a probe into Lin’s operation.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
KMT-CCP forum was not political, KMT official says
KMT-CCP forum was not political, KMT official saysBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAA think tank forum held between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last week was not political, but focused on helping Taiwanese businesses, KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday. Hsiao, alongside National Policy Foundation deputy chairman Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), last week visited Beijing to attend the forum, where they on Wednesday met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen, left, and National Policy Foundation deputy chairman Lee Hong-yuan speak to reporters in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei TimesThe discussions focused on renewable energy, disaster prevention, emerging industries, and health and medicine collaboration, Lee said. Not a word at the event was related to political issues, Hsiao said, adding that the media was reporting false narratives to foster the image that the KMT is on the side of the CCP.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Orchid show aiming for Monet-like experience
Orchid show aiming for Monet-like experienceBy Yang Yuan-ting and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThis year’s Taiwan International Orchid Show, which is to be held from Feb. 27 to March 16, is to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) to transform the hall into a canvas, aiming to make visitors feel as if they are stepping into a Claude Monet painting, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hu Jong-i, fourth left, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-chi, fourth right, and other officials attend a news conference at Taipei Railway Station yesterday to introduce this year’s Taiwan International Orchid Show. People could plan a one-day trip to visit the orchid show during the day and the lantern festival at night, Huang said. Hu said the ministry is continuing efforts to promote domestic orchid sales, citing that as the second-phase expansion of the Tainan Orchid Biotech Park is completed, more businesses would have access to the park. The ministry hopes to grow the total value of Taiwan’s orchid market to at least NT$10 billion, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
South Africa and Zimbabwe cruise while Italy lose
South Africa and Zimbabwe cruise while Italy loseAP, AHMEDABAD, IndiaAfter an action-packed weekend at the T20 World Cup, Monday was sedate with undemanding wins by South Africa, Zimbabwe and late replacements Scotland. South Africa captain Aiden Markram plays a shot against Canada in their Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup match in Ahmedabad, India, on Monday. Photo: AFPItaly’s 45-year wait for World Cup cricket ended in a 73-run defeat against Scotland in Kolkata, India, and captain Wayne Madsen dislocated his shoulder. Canada finished on 156-8, Navneet Dhaliwal falling in the last over for 64 off 49, his second T20 World Cup half-century. Scotland lost to Italy in the World Cup qualifiers, but replaced Bangladesh just two weeks before the World Cup and lost to the West Indies at the same venue in their first game.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Democracy dies in broad daylight
However, today, Bezos, who has throttled the Post’s opinion page and now slashed the newspaper’s staff, seems determined to demonstrate that a free press, an essential component of democracy, can be killed off in broad daylight. Defunding National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, as Trump has done, is not merely about cultural grievance. The point is to apply structural pressure, eroding the shared facts on which democratic argument depends. Accurate reporting no longer compels action, because facts can be published, verified and still fail to trigger a response. We are witnessing a systemic attack on the US institutions and the American public’s ability to hold power to account.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Creature of romance
Taipei Zoo home to rare, seasonally appropriate critterTaipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has beenBy Fabian Hamacher, Ann Wang and Yi-Chin Lee
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
President calls for release of HK activist Jimmy Lai
President calls for release of HK activist Jimmy Lai‘EXTREMELY UNFAIR’: Claire Lai called her father’s 20-year sentence ‘laughable,’ adding that no one should be under the illusion that there is rule of law in Hong KongStaff writer, with CNAPresident William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for the immediate release of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英), who was on Monday sentenced to 20 years in prison for breaching Hong Kong’s National Security Law. “Taiwan stands with Mr Jimmy Lai and all the people who safeguard freedom,” the president wrote on social media. Hailing Jimmy Lai as a long-time advocate for freedom and democracy, the president said his detention was Beijing’s attempt to create a chilling effect among dissidents and poses a grave threat to the universal values espoused by the international community. China’s cross-border oppression has gone beyond Hong Kong and redefined “foreign forces,” Hong Kong Outlanders secretary-general Sky Fung (馮詔天) said. While an appeal remains an option, she said pursuing one could allow the Hong Kong government to argue that the case is still ongoing and that foreign governments therefore should not intervene.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
After elections, hard economic test awaits Thailand
After elections, hard economic test awaits ThailandBy Orathai Sriring / ReutersThai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s big surprise win in Sunday’s election and the likelihood of a strong coalition government could provide temporary relief to Thailand’s stuttering economy that has faced repeated bouts of political instability. “Thailand’s election result should help reduce political risk in the near term, but does little to change the challenging economic outlook,” Capital Economics’ senior Asia economist Gareth Leather said in a note on Monday. The election result sent Thai stocks up more than 3 percent, hitting their highest level in more than a year. “Moreover, stiffening regional competition for tourism and foreign direct investments puts the Thai economy at a crucial crossroads,” OCBC Group Research said. In his first comments since the election result, Thai Minister of Finance Ekniti Nitithanprapas said the incoming government would convert state-promoted and approved projects, worth 480 billion baht (US$15.41 billion), into actual investment this year.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Switzerland’s Von Allmen wins second gold medal
Switzerland’s Von Allmen wins second gold medalAP, CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ItalySwiss skier Franjo von Allmen won the first gold medal of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics over the weekend, and he added another on Monday. It is turning into quite the Olympic debut for Von Allmen, who partnered with Tanguy Nef to win the team combined in the event’s Olympic debut. Unlike on Saturday when he captured downhill gold, Von Allmen needed some help. Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen competes in the downhill of the men’s team combined skiing at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in Bormio, Italy, on Monday. Defending champions Canada responded by beating Czechia 5-1 later, but saw captain Marie-Philip Poulin limp off in the first period and not return.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Taiwan’s population falls for 25th consecutive month
Taiwan’s population falls for 25th consecutive monthStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan’s population fell for a 25th consecutive month in January, with the number of live births falling by 304 from December 2025, according to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). As of the end of January, Taiwan’s population totaled 23,289,045, down 10,087 from December 2025, the data showed. Newborns sleep in a nursery at Ton-Yen General Hospital in Hsinchu County on Oct. 17, 2025. The natural population decrease, the difference between births and deaths, was 8,806 in January, MOI data showed. The MOI data also showed that the population aged 65 and older totaled 4,692,484, or 20.15 percent of the population, meeting the United Nations’ definition of a “super-aged society,” in which people 65 and older account for more than 20 percent of the population.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Taiwan jumps to 24th on corruption perceptions index
Taiwan jumps to 24th on corruption perceptions indexDEMOCRACIES SLIPPING: Most countries are failing to keep corruption under control, including advanced nations like the US and the UK, whose scores droppedStaff writer, with CNA and APTaiwan jumped one spot to rank 24th globally in Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, marking the country’s best-ever result, the Agency Against Corruption said yesterday. Taiwan showed steady progress in the evaluation, outperforming 86 percent of the 182 countries and territories assessed, the agency said in a statement. A government supporter holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: “In unity against corruption,” during a rally against corruption in Caracas on March 25, 2023. Taiwan scored 68 points on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Only five countries scored above 80 in last year’s report, down from 12 a decade ago.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
China’s ultimate goal is Taiwan’s annihilation: MAC
China’s ultimate goal is Taiwan’s annihilation: MACBy Chen Yu-fu, Hollie Younger and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writers and ReutersThe Mainland Affairs Council yesterday dismissed Beijing’s call for “reunification,” describing it as a rehash of its longstanding stance with the ultimate goal of Taiwan’s annihilation. Wang also called for facilitating people-to-people and primary-level exchanges, and supporting Taiwanese compatriots, especially young people, seeking to study, work and live in China, Xinhua said. While Beijing stressed the need to uphold the so-called “one China” principle and “1992 consensus,” the logical end is Taiwan’s annihilation, it said. Beijing’s creation of task forces at the conference was “a form of aggression against Taiwan,” Taiwan Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said. He urged people to recognize which candidates are supported by the CCP and be aware of China’s election interference tactics.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC
Ministry shares updates on airport terminal project
Ministry shares updates on airport terminal projectBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterConstruction of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s third terminal and its south concourse are scheduled to be completed in April and August next year respectively, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. “Given that 240 government agencies and companies are stationed at Taoyuan airport, six more months of trial operations are needed at the third terminal and its south concourse. In other news, Chen said that the proposed high-speed rail extension to Yilan County would be built under the conditions that the project is technically feasible and the government is able to fund the project. “The high-speed rail system has been in operation for about 20 years, and a new high-speed rail train is to be added to the service this year. We must engage in practical discussions of extending high-speed rail lines,” Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 10, 2026 17:21 UTC